Chelavara Falls, Coorg: How To Reach, Best Time & Tips

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Chelavara Falls Overview

Originating from the river Kaveri, Chelavara falls are one of the most scenic falls in Coorg, famous for their unique appearance. Also known as Embepare (Tortoise) falls locally, the gushing columns of water crash down from a height of 150 ft. on a huge tortoise shaped rock and it is best Coorg sightseeing places.

It is a mesmerising sight to see the huge white curtains of water cascading down amidst lush green surroundings. The surroundings of the falls are enveloped in the intoxicating fragrance of coffee from the nearby plantations.

They are reachable after a 10-minute easy hike from the end of the Virajpet road. There is a 50 ft. deep plunge pool at the bottom of the fall for a cool refreshing dip. The best time to visit this famous Coorg tourist place is during the monsoons.

Height: 150 feet

Location: 2 Km From Choma Kund Hill, Madikeri, India

Best Time to Visit: Monsoon is the best time but is equally risky. Winter season is the safest one.

Entry fee: No entry fee.

Timings: 6 AM to 6 PM on all days of the week.

Average time required to visit the place: More than 2 to 3 hours.

Distance from Madikeri Bus Stand: Approximately 43 Km

Know More: Camping Tours in Coorg

Chelavara Falls is formed by a tributary of river Kaveri, flowing near and around the highway of Virajpet - Talakaveri. It is 16 km away from the central city of Virajpet, Karnataka. The location of this falls is a scenic pleasure for tourists wanting to explore the best places in Coorg. Though, they are advised to steer clear from the close proximity of this falls. It has a depth of approximately 150-feet where its pooling water is an accident-prone area. So, travellers need to be responsible while exploring the falls.

Although the authorities have restricted the visits at the water pool of the waterfall, still families spend of their time around the rainy or monsoon season to watch the mesmerizing fall in its full glory. Rocks near the waterfall are tortoise-shaped, which becomes another sight to see for travellers.

In fact, these tourists also enjoy having a picnic with friends and families over the hill-top, or else, they love to hike up to Chelavara Waterfalls for great photoshoots and selfie sessions. Many travel bloggers are found crowding this place in Coorg for their video logs, which people enjoy a lot. In fact, nature and the weather are the two main reasons for visiting Chelavara Falls. Despite that, tourists can wander around the home stays like Coorg Summer Palace and Winter Palace. Besides that, Kabbe Hills, and local temples like Karada Bhagavathi Temple and Kekmani Bhagavathi Bhadrakali Temple are popular tourist attractions.

Overview

Timings: Visitors can hike up to this Chelavara Falls from 6 AM to 6 PM

Entry Fee: The entry to visit the falls is completely free. You would not need to pay a single penny to enjoy the sound of the waterfall gushing around you, flanked by the forests and hill stations.

Location: It is located around 42 km away from Madikeri, whereas the same is an only 4-minute drive away from Chomakund Hill point, Kabbe Hills, Karnataka. Honestly, it’s one of the best tourist sightseeing places in Coorg, the Scotland of India.

Height: The rushing water streams fall down on the tortoise-like rock from the height of 150 feet. That rock is also called Embepare translated to Tortoise Rock in English.

Best Time To Visit Chelavara Falls: To check out the white sheets of this pure Kaveri river water breaking its way down the forest and hard rocks, monsoon is the best season for travellers. Though, you would need to be careful around its water pool area around the monsoon season.

How to Reach Chelavara Falls

By Road: There are facilities available around Cheyyandane, Virajpet for hiring an auto or taxi. Or else, same can be hailed from Madikeri. But it is farther than Virajpet and takes approximately 1.2 to 2 hours to reach. On the other than, Virajput takes 40-45 minutes.

It is not advisable to take your private car to the Chelavara falls because of the slippery and narrow roads. Only an expert or a professional driver will be able to drive through the rough road patch.

There is also a motor cable which you can get near Cheyyandane village. After that, the rough path to the Chelavara Falls is not easily travelled. It’s 10-minutes of a walk ahead to reach in comfortable shoes, because of the wet area.

By Rail: Around 110 km away, there is a railway station named Kanhangad Railway station. From there, it takes 3-3.5 hours to reach the waterfall. However, Mysore railways take up to 2.5-3 hours to reach near Madikeri or Coorg. From there on, you can hail a cab or taxi.

By Bus: Hire a bus from Cheyyandane’s local bus-stop in the village of Virajpet.

Tips For Visiting Chelavara Falls

- Do not enter the water pool of the waterfall, especially around the monsoon season. There have been some fatal casualties because tourists were not responsible.

- Remember to walk ahead in comfortable shoes to avoid any kind of slips or mishaps around the bank of the waterfall.

- Although this waterfall can be visited anytime in the 12 hours of the day, it’s advisable by the experts to plan your trip only during the day or early in the morning. The evenings might get a little darker, which leads to difficulty in finding the way back.

- Leave from your place on time because you cannot reach the main Chelavara Waterfall point without a 10-minutes of a walk.

History of Chelavara Falls

The waterfalls on the western ghats have always been in talks about their beauty, musical sounds of waters breaking through the rocks, and nature’s path. And one of such waterfalls is Chelavara Falls, near Virajpet village, Karnataka.

And recently this waterfall has been in the media because of the accidents that happen around its pool. Therefore, as a conclusive action, authorities banned the entry of tourists into this waterfall for swimming or any other bathing purposes.

Majorly this has happened because either the tourists were unbeknownst to the fact of its 150-feet depth or they were simply too curious to swim around. Therefore, the government around had to take action, preventing any further mishaps.

Things To Do at Chelavara Falls

- Hiking is the first thing every traveller is destined to do at Chelavara Falls because you cannot reach it without walking down the rough and zigzag path, in the middle of the forest. It takes around 10-15 minutes to arrive at the main point—depending upon your speed and accuracy of finding the location.

- Relax and take in the beauty of nature: Tourists find everything including fresh air, birds chirping around, and the majestic white-coloured waterfall in the monsoon at this place.

- Click Selfies and make travel blogs while you are visiting this place. It’s one of the most controversial waterfalls in and around Coorg, despite the backdrop of mountains and greenery everywhere.

- Visit Bhagvathi & Kekmani Bhagavathi Bhadrakali Temples when you are done roaming on the Chelavara Falls. There are plenty of other temples around this place where you can find peace and serenity with your family. Also, if you are with friends, you should pay a gentle visit to the temples for imbibing the Kannada culture in.

- Check Out The Sunset Points while you are still around this Chelavara Falls. This place is surrounded by greenery, so nature tourism is all you get to enjoy primarily. The sunset points are quite breath-taking. These scenic places compel every traveller to stay for more than the required time.

- Go at the UK Point which is just after the Chelavara Falls location. It is located at least 4-5 minutes’ drive or 15-minutes’ walk away. In fact, it’s famous for the plush moors and the wide expanse of nature unravelling. Herein families and tourists take their selfies and spend time together.

- Discover the beauty of Kabbe Hills, which is just adjacent to the UK point. It looks like it’s the expansion of UK point itself.

- Try Wildlife Safari At Kabbe Hills if you want to explore the nature in depth over the hills. The cost is around Rs. 3000 per person. These Safaris start from around 3 PM, so it’s better you reach by 2-2:30 PM to avoid the crowd. But you need to have at least 2-5 hours at hand because that’s the duration of this Safari.

- Go Camping at Coorg Campsites near the Waterfall if you want to try the life in peace around the green of Coorg district.

Other Places to Visit near Chelavara Falls

Tadiandamol Campsite and Peak: During the day, tourists can prepare for the trek to the peak, which is also Coorg’s highest peak. After a trek of about 2.6 km is the camping location and beyond that 1.6 km of the trek is additional, if travellers are interested in reaching the peak. Around the camping site, there will be other campers as well. They all stay for a night generally at the camp area named as Big Rock. Whereas, it becomes harder to camp on the hill-top because of the windy weather.

Tadiyandamol Hills: When travellers reach the top of the hill during the day, they can enjoy a picnic for a short time because of the unstable weather. It might rain any time there, especially during the monsoon season. Otherwise, tourists enjoy the evocative sightseeing pleasure of the panoramic views from the above. Some days there is a light mist wafting around. Or else, the winds are an awesome relief for the hot or dry weather season.

Kakkabe Town Market: From 8 AM to 9 PM daily, this market opens up near the Chelavara Falls area. The sellers here are one of the large cultivators of honey in South East Asia.

Nalknad Palace: It is in the Kodagu or Coorg district of Karnataka, near the Kakkabe village. And history lovers can roam around this palace which was built in 1792 AD, commemorating the win of Dodda Vira Rajendra against the famous Tipu Sultan. Currently, this palace is covered with wooden carvings along with the old and rusted tiled roof. Overall, tourists find peace and evidence of Indian history here.

Coorg Golf Parks: This is a private club in Virajpet village, happily run by the locals for the tourists around the year. The greenery here is marvellous, and tourists get to sip their famous south Indian tea along with breakfast or lunch while playing Golf.

Visit The Igguthappa Temple: It is open daily from 9 AM to 1 PM. Therefore, tourists who are travelling near Kakkabe village or near Chelavara Falls can easily pay a tribute and a devotional visit to local lord Igguthappa’s Temple. This god has been prayed by the Coorg’s people for the prosperity and harvesting of crops.

Other Important Information

Places to Stay (Camps and Homestays):

Every village or district around the Chelavara Falls has at least one camping site like the Coorg Campsite a few minutes away from the Falls. Opposite to it is the Giridarshini HomeStay. Just 8 km away, there’s a local hotel named Coorg Summer Palace or going farther, there’s a resort named Winter Palace.

In fact, many of these homestays provide their own sites to camp at night for a subtle party with closed-friends. The tourists are also allowed to have dinner or light lunch. Or else, if the weather is right, they can enjoy a bonfire after a simple trek to the site.

Places to Eat:

The closest place to grab a bite is Rangu Coffee Estate, famous for its reasonable prices and remarkable coffee and quaint ambience. This café house is like 1.5 km away as per the distance. Otherwise, there are a few homestays which might offer a light snack at odd hours.

If tourists are planning for a day-long trip ahead, they are advised to bring a picnic along with the numerous food items which they could enjoy later on the trek or Kabbe Wildlife Safari.

Transportation:

Private cars find it difficult to reach at the top of the Chelavara Falls because of the steep roadways and a narrow trekking path in the middle of the forest. Tourists can reach here by cable motor car, or the hired taxi because the professional drivers are trained to drive on the narrow roads, which are slippery during the monsoon season.

Therefore, it is not advisable to bring your personal vehicle in and around Chelavara Falls to enjoy the best time of the Coorg travel diaries.

Medical Facilities:

The nearest medical outlet would be the Cheyandane Hospital that is open from Monday to Saturday from 9 AM to 5 PM. Though it is closed on Sundays. And it takes about 9-10 minutes’ drive from the waterfall to reach the hospital for any kind of emergency.

Network Connectivity:

In the open area near Chelavara Falls, network connectivity would not be an issue. Though, in and around the trek and forest, there might be a slight disturbance.